The best – and worst – racing films ever

For a sport which by its very nature is cinematic, racing sometimes struggles to translate to the big screen.

For every stellar performance, there are some back of the grid villains too. Le Mans and Grand Prix took the plaudits in recent years, while Ford vs Ferrari and F1: The Movie are the new challengers.

Meanwhile some, like Driven, are thought to be so bad they’re good.

Here’s a rundown of the very best, and the downright awful.

The best racing films ever: Which picture takes your No1?

Rush (2013)

See past the fact that the plot is mostly bunkum, and some of the CGI is a bit shonky, and there’s much to like. Thor, sorry, Chris Hemsworth does an OK impersonation of James Hunt, despite looking like Tiff Needell in a fright wig, but the film belongs to the brilliant Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda.

Le Mans (1971)

There are some members of this parish who think this film is a snooze-fest (the author among them…), but there’s no denying the fascination attached to it; as much for how it was made as for what appears on screen.

F1: The Movie (2025)

Brad Pitt’s Grand Prix reboot – with a aspects strangely similar to Driven and a plot which appears to be influenced by the 2008 Singapore Crashgate – was never going to push artistic boundaries.

However, as a bang-for-your-buck action thriller, it does pretty well.

Heart like a wheel (1983)

This biopic of Top Fuel drag racing superstar Shirley Muldowney and her rise to prominence isn’t historically accurate, not least thanks to the appearances of non-period cars, but it is a compelling story. ‘Cha Cha’ reputedly didn’t get on with Bonnie Bedelia who portrayed her, but she has since softened her stance on the film.

Senna (2010)

OK, so it’s a documentary, but it is a remarkable one nevertheless. Some might argue that Ayrton Senna is brazenly deified in this film, and that Alain Prost is presented as a pantomime villain, but it is impossible not to feel a lump in your throat when the film climaxes at Imola in 1994.

Ford vs Ferrari (2019)

Ken Miles and the Ford GT40’s brilliant Le Mans ’66 victory brought to life on the silver screen. Difficult not to love.

Un Homme et une Femme (1966)

Director Claude Lelouch had intended making a documentary about motor racing several years before shooting this gorgeous movie, only to run out of money. Some of his footage appears here, along with fresh stuff shot at Montlhéry and elsewhere. Ignore the ’80s sequel, though, as it is rendered unwatchable thanks to the synth score.

Checkpoint (1956)

This crime drama could easily be placed in the worst film category were it not for the fabulous Mille Miglia footage (spliced with staged stuff shot on the Brecon Beacons…). The acting is wooden, the dialogue laughable, but it is the only film ever to feature the mighty Fairthorpe Atom in a supporting role.

The last American Hero (1973)

This film starring Jeff Bridges is based on Tom Wolfe’s novel of the same name. It tells the fictionalised story of moonshiner turned NASCAR legend Junior Johnson with authentic – if not always age-correct – race footage interwoven throughout. A good movie, and one largely overlooked today.

Winning (1969)

Forever in the shadow of Grand Prix and Le Mans, this Indy-centric flick wasn’t one of Paul Newman’s best. It did, however, turn him on to racing for which we should all be thankful. There is also footage of the wondrous Holman Moody Honker II, perhaps the only race car ever painted in metallic lilac.

The Green Helmet (1961)

Set in Italy and shot in, er, Wales, this isn’t a brilliant film. It isn’t even in the same time-zone, but it does feature Sid James as an Australian mechanic and Jack Brabham in a speaking role, so it cannot be all bad. Throw in some corking race footage and it’s a fun time-whiler.

The Pinchcliffe GP (1975)

This stop-motion epic remains the most popular Norwegian film of all time. No, wait, come back! Seriously, this might not be a ‘real’ racing movie, but it has better wheel-to-wheel competition and more plot intrigue than most. Which is why we love it.

The worst racing films ever: Time for Sylvester Stallone to avert his gaze…

Red Line 7000 (1965)

This crash-fest-cum-soap opera is conspicuously absent from many books on director Howard Hawks, and with good reason. Starring James Caan, and rooted in NASCAR, the best bit has to be the sequence where hero ‘Mike Marsh’ battles epic oversteer only to pit complaining that, “It’s pushing…”

Road Racers (1959)

A rule of thumb: the better the poster, the worse the film. The poster for this B-movie is outstanding. A driver causes the death of a fellow racer on track, prompting his father to disown him and sponsor a rival. The tagline “Screeching hell on wheels… Is it sport or murder?” says it all.

The Racers (1955)

On the plus side, this Kirk Douglas melodrama has a decent cast and some splendid race footage intertwined with staged stuff. On the debit side, the dialogue is unintentionally hilarious – “I spit in your crankcase” – as is Douglas’s attempt at an Italian accent.

Driven (2001)

Oh, where to start..? Let’s just say that this steaming pile of ordure features Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone and leave it at that.

Bobby Deerfield (1977)

While notionally a racing film, the titular F1 star played by Al Pacino spends most of his time mumbling, romancing a terminally ill young lady and going for rides in a hot air balloon. Or something. It’s hard to recall as we may have slept through part of it. Beyond boring.

Days of Thunder (1990)

Yes, really. Every motor racing film cliché was thrown at this piece of hackery, and most of them stuck. Tom Cruise’s character Cole Trickle was supposedly inspired by real-life Indy-turned-NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, but this is probably apocryphal. Best bit? The end credits.

Stroker Ace (1983)

While notionally based on the wickedly funny novel Stand on It by William Neely and Bob Ottum, this Burt Reynolds vehicle borrowed little more than the main protagonist’s name. It consists mostly of Reynolds trying to wriggle out of his contract. That, and copping off with Loni Anderson. Truly, really awful.

Greased Lightning (1977)

This alleged biopic of African-American NASCAR racer Wendell Scott was nothing of the sort. While not a bad film per se, it played fast and loose with the facts, not least the fictional upbeat ending. What’s more, Scott never earned a penny from this Richard Pryor vehicle.

The Wild Racers (1963)

The ‘plot’ for this film by B-movie maestro Roger Corman notionally centres on a journalist’s plan to expose a Grand Prix driver as being a rum cove, only to have second thoughts after he saves his life. There are some decent action sequences, but the, cough, ‘acting’ is beyond bad.

Baffled! (1973)

This failed pilot for a TV show-turned-movie is memorable for the brief race sequences shot during the 1971 Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting. Well, that and star Leonard Nimoy chewing the scenery as a GP ace who has psychic powers. There’s a great scene involving a vintage Bentley chasing an Austin J4 van, mind, although ‘great’ is a relative term.